Christmas Nazi
by DreamSprite
Summary: From the Live Journal Christmas challenge. Taylor isn't big on Christmas but the one thing he enjoys is how into it Wash is because she is a Christmas Nazi.


I plan on owning the Season One box set of Terra Nova when it comes out and that's as close as I'll ever get

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><p>Lieutenant Alicia Washington, veteran of two wars and countless operations, respected by all, feared by some, the embodiment of what every soldier should strive to be. For the first eleven months out of the year she was all this and more but during the last month as the Christmas season approached she tended to get a little, intense, about the holiday.<p>

Despite the fact that it was his office Washington was ordering the men around like it was hers. Taylor appeared unaffected as he continued looking over paperwork and signing forms but the small smile on his lips was proof he found the situation rather amusing.

"That garland needs to be attached to every other rafter beam for it to hang properly."

She was checking off a couple items from her list when her radio went off. Although no one could hear what was said at the beginning of the conversation everyone in the office heard the end.

"I don't care if you have to sit up there and hold it yourself for the next two weeks, that star is going to be securely attached to the radio tower or I'll have you cleaning tire treads with a toothbrush for a month!"

Clipboard in hand she stormed out of the office and they could hear her fading voice yelling at those unfortunate enough to be standing on the deck.

"Where is that wreath? It was supposed to be hanging on Commander Taylor's door by 0900 this morning."

Out of fear of what Washington would do to them if they didn't finish hanging the garland before she came back the men doubled their pace, only pausing when a surprised yelp came from the roof followed by a loud rolling thud that ended with a pair of boots dangling outside the window. Without looking up from his paperwork Commander Taylor spoke.

"Go help Private Reynolds before he hurts himself."

Later that day Mark Reynolds, still a little shaken by almost falling to his death (if not death then at least to a couple of broken bones) dropped onto his bunk in the barracks with an exaggerated sigh. His dramatic entrance hadn't been missed by a group of off duty soldiers playing a game of poker and they exchanged looks of understanding over their cards.

"Have a rough day kid?"

"Lt. Washington had me hang lights on top of the command center."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

One of the men motioned to an empty chair and Mark dragged himself over to their table.

"I was about half way done when I busted my thumb and nearly fell of the roof."

The smiles were poorly hidden behind cards and fists as a few men pretended to cough.

"I was taken off light duty and once the feeling returned in my finger she had me making bows with ten loops each before she decided they would look better with twelve loops and had me redo them all."

The laughter was deafening. Sergeant Hill was sitting to his left and patted Mark's shoulder in a sympathetic way as soon as he could breathe.

"She gets like this every year. It'll pass after Christmas."

Throwing down his pair of queens Hill smirked as he collected his winnings but a darker expression crossed his face as a new hand was dealt.

"It could have been worse."

"How?"

Mark wasn't sure if he really wanted an answer.

"She could have assigned you to the tree."

Nearly twenty feet of prehistoric pine stood proudly in front of the command center with strands of lights wrapping around its branches exactly thirty times. The ornaments had been laid out on a table according to size and color and while four soldiers climbed up ladders around the tree three others handed them the decorations. Nearby Washington stood with a clipboard in hand keeping a sharp eye on the placement of each ornament.

Her level of attention to detail was normally reserved for people suffering from a mental disorder or wedding planners.

"There are too many three inch blue stars on the lower left section, pull three and put them higher up."

Once satisfied with the distribution of stars she walked around the tree, her brow furrowed in concentration as she studied the tree.

"Those red bows are too close together, move the left one two feet down."

From his place on the command deck Taylor looked out over the Colony with no small amount of pride. He was about to head back to his paperwork when heard boot steps coming to a stop behind him.

"Could we have a word with you Sir?"

Turning around Taylor studied the three soldiers standing by his office door. He could tell by the way they kept shifting their weight and trading looks that they had something to say but none of them wanted to be the one to say it. As amusing as it was to watch the men squirm he had things to do and had already procrastinated more than he should have.

"Spit it out."

"Sir, we are worried about Lt. Washington."

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing as they continued.

"We think she's going overboard for Christmas."

The soldier to the left, a young woman he recognized as Private Riley piped up.

"Yesterday she made Parker replace the lights around the lampposts because the bulbs didn't glow bright enough and this morning she had us move the tree five inches because it wasn't perfectly centered."

Taylor looked from the pleading eyes of his soldiers to his lieutenant down below. She was measuring the length of bow loops with a ruler.

"I'll talk to her."

A look of relief came over their faces and the three quickly left before Washington noticed they weren't putting up wreaths in the mess hall. A stack of requisition forms were still waiting for him to go over and as soon as they were finished he would speak with Washington. A few hours later he found his lieutenant in the market haggling with Casey Durwin over a basket of red flowers.

"Five terra's and the next time I'm OTG at the coast I'll bring you back all the black shells you could ever want."

Durwin thought about it for a few seconds then held his hand.

"Deal."

They shook and as soon as she had the basket balancing against her hip Taylor came up beside her.

"I had an interesting conversation with some of your decoration committee. You're scaring the kids Wash."

There was a small smirk on her face that ruined her attempt to look innocent.

"I don't know what you're talking about Sir."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

He dug into his pocket and pulled out a handful of coins.

"I'm putting three Terra's on Reynolds."

Adjusting the basket on her hip Washington held out her hand to accept the money.

"I'll have Guzman add you to the pool."

They shared a smile and continued heading towards the command center. Every year (as Washington became what the more seasoned soldiers affectionately called the Christmas Nazi) bets were placed on which new recruit would break first. This year's front runners were Reynolds and Foster but after the roof incident Reynolds was the favorite. He took a few steps up the command stairs before turning to catch Washington before she headed towards her next Christmas project

"Keep up the good work Lieutenant, the Colony is looking great."

Her smile was genuine.

"Thank you Sir."

He could hear her humming silent night as she made her way to the barracks.


End file.
